{"id":1316,"date":"2009-03-24T11:06:39","date_gmt":"2009-03-24T16:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.soundadviceblog.com\/?p=1316"},"modified":"2009-03-24T11:08:03","modified_gmt":"2009-03-24T16:08:03","slug":"quantum-of-solace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.soundadviceblog.com\/?p=1316","title":{"rendered":"Quantum of Solace"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Quantum of Solace
\nMGM Home Entertainment (Distributed by 20th Century Fox)
\nBlu-ray Disc Review By Jerry Rutledge<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quantum of Solace, the sequel to Casino Royal, is a solid addition to the James Bond franchise of spy, action films.\u00a0 It is a worthy addition to every fan\u2019s collection.<\/p>\n

The film picks up where Casino Royal left off.\u00a0 James Bond (Daniel Craig) has captured Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), an enigmatic figure that belongs to the secret Quantum organization that is responsible for the death of Bond\u2019s lover, Vesper Lynd from the earlier Casino Royal film.\u00a0 White\u2019s escape leads to Bond\u2019s pursuit of another Quantum member, Dominic Greene (Mattheu Amalric) a ruthless predator with a bug-eyed look who covertly seeks to profit from the overthrow of a Bolivian government while masquerading in polite society as an ecological philanthropist.<\/p>\n

Bond globe trots to some fantastic locations filmed with gritty realism such as Panama, Chile, Italy, and Austria.\u00a0 Along the way he is catapulted into stunning trademark action sequences — a rooftop race, a shot out through collapsing scaffolding and pane glass, frantic car and speed boat chases, and an explosive airplane dogfight.<\/p>\n

The film explores Bond\u2019s need for revenge for the betrayal, grief and rage he feels over the death of his lover Vesper Lynd.\u00a0 He has two main allies in the film.\u00a0 Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko) is a Russian-Bolivian agent spying on Greene.\u00a0 Greene seeks to overthrow a Bolivian government and install a dictator, General Medrano (Joaqu\u00edn Cos\u00edo), the same dictator who murdered Camille\u2019s family when she was a child.\u00a0 Camille stays close to Greene and waits for the opportunity to kill the dictator and exact her revenge.\u00a0 She is a less experienced agent who shares Bond\u2019s need to avenge the death of loved ones.\u00a0 Bond finds partial redemption by helping her.\u00a0 The second ally, Ren\u00e9 Mathis (Giancarllo Giannini) an older operative in the intelligence community, provides a voice for the turmoil of emotions that Bond buries with alcohol.<\/p>\n

The film has been updated with the theme of modern day moral ambiguity.\u00a0 Bond\u2019s ability to carry out his mission is questioned \u2013 primarily by his superior M (Judi Dench) who wonders whether his need to revenge the killing of Vesper Lynd is interfering with his ability to interrogate witnesses for more information, and also by her superiors and the CIA.\u00a0 There is a suggestion in the film that absent information that Quantum is an evil society, governments must turn a blind eye and remain competitive by doing business with it for the world\u2019s oil supply.\u00a0 As a result, Bond is pursued as a rogue agent by his own organization and the CIA.\u00a0 This film is a large break from tradition in which Bond\u2019s sardonic humor, judgment and licensee to kill villains and their henchmen went largely unquestioned.<\/p>\n

Ultimately Bond and Camille must confront not only the villains that have destroyed their lives but also their inner demons.<\/p>\n

The film extras include: \u201cAnother Way to Die\u201d the music video from the movie title theme song; \u201cBond on Location\u201d that details the film crews\u2019 globetrotting to make the movie (some of which is later repeated on a smaller clip called \u201cOn Location\u201d); \u201cStart of Shooting\u201d a short clip indicating the director started filming dialogue scenes with Daniel Craig before action scenes so he had a chance to get immersed in his character; \u201cOlga Kurylenko and the Boat Chase\u201d a clip about the making of one of the movie stunt sequences; \u201cDirector Marc Foster\u201d a short clip of the director\u2019s comments about the film, \u201cThe Music\u201d a short clip on setting the film\u2019s mood music; \u201cCrew Files\u201d many web site blogs from the location film crews, some of which were used to construct the longer \u201cBond on Location\u201d feature; and theatrical trailers.\u00a0 Noticeably absent is an in-picture commentary feature.\n<\/p>\n